System of a Down’s John Dolmayan Launches Kickstarter Campaign for These Grey Men Project

System of a Down are currently laying low after finishing off a world tour that spanned from 2011-2013. With almost a full year gone by since the tour's final show, drummer John Dolmayan found himself with a lot of time on his hands, thus the musician has started the new project These Grey Men.

These Grey Men is comprised of Dolmayan and musician James Hazley, formerly of the band Cockeyed Ghost. The duo has sought out to create a covers album, twisted slightly to fit Dolmayan's style as if he had written the songs himself. Songs from artists such as Radiohead, Outkast and David Bowie have already been confirmed to be covered by These Grey Men.

"About two years ago, I began to feel somewhat incomplete," begins Dolmayan. "I was touring and having a great time with my friends in System Of A Down, but something was missing. After some soul searching, it hit me that I hadn't given anything new artistically to the world in far too long."

Dolmayan adds, "On one of my many trips to visit friends and family in LA, I was scrolling through the 10,000 or so songs in my iPod, and as different songs would come on - for reasons I can't explain - I would rearrange them and change the melodies around in my head … James was ready for the challenge I presented him: to take songs and completely re-imagine them, while maintaining their original integrity. We took some risks with these songs. We pushed boundaries. We pushed ourselves. I hope you enjoy listening to this album as much as we enjoy making it for you!"

To bring a These Grey Men album and tour to life, Dolmayan launched a Kickstarter campaign. The goal is to raise $55,000, with incentives such as a signed copy of the CD, drum sticks used by Dolmayan, personal drum lessons from Dolmayan and even a trip to Las Vegas with Dolmayan for potential contributors.

Check out Dolmayan explaining These Grey Men in the video above and visit the project's Kickstarter page to make a pledge.